It took nearly five years after Epic Games acquired Quixel, but they’re now walking back on their promise by limiting access to Megascans for aspiring game developers.
Epic is phasing out free Megascans as part of their new content marketplace, Fab, which merges Unreal Engine Marketplace, Sketchfab, ArtStation Marketplace, and Quixel. Announced last year at GDC, Fab is set to launch in mid-October, marking the end of free Megascans access.
This shift could significantly impact indie developers who rely on these assets for budget-friendly projects.
As part of the recent changes, Quixel, acquired by Epic Games in 2019, announced that their extensive Megascans library will be available exclusively on Fab. The assets will remain free for all users under Fab’s Standard License until the end of 2024.
However, starting in 2025, Epic Games will no longer offer Megascans for free, ending a long-standing commitment that has benefitted developers for years, especially smaller indie teams that rely on cost-effective tools.
Megascans is a comprehensive library of photorealistic 2D and 3D assets created by Quixel, widely used in industries like film, game development, and architecture.
The library includes detailed 3D models, vegetation, and high-quality textures of surfaces, created using photogrammetry, a technique that scans real-world objects in high resolution to capture intricate details like texture, shape, and color.
These assets help creators build hyper-realistic environments efficiently, enabling developers to save time while incorporating top-tier visuals into their projects across games, VR, and more.
These assets enable the creation of hyper-realistic digital environments for games, films, virtual reality, and architectural visualization.
They have been especially valuable to aspiring developers looking for high-quality, time-saving resources. By offering these assets, developers could integrate professional-grade visuals into their projects with ease, boosting creativity and productivity without the need for building everything from scratch.
Tim Sweeney and Epic Games have consistently promoted the accessibility of free Megascans for use within Unreal Engine. However, this recent retroactive change is particularly concerning because it cts the countless tutorials created by industry veterans that depend on Quixel’s assets being available to all participants in their courses.
Starting today, Quixel is ending automatic renewals for paid subscriptions. If you are a paying Quixel subscriber, you can convert your active paid points balance into Epic Wallet credit or request a refund when Fab launches. All content downloaded from Quixel.com or Bridge will remain subject to the license that was in effect at the time of acquisition.
This means you can continue to use previously downloaded Megascans assets in your past, present, and future projects under the original license terms; however, this ultimately doesn’t change the overall situation.
The availability of the Megascans library for free is a significant factor for new users choosing Unreal Engine over traditional engines, as it simplifies the learning curve for both Unreal Engine and UEFN, allowing users to quickly create impressive environments.
While this opportunity will no longer be available for future Unreal Engine users, you can still access the assets for free until the end of the year, and once acquired, they are yours to keep forever.
Another aspect of this situation is Epic’s decision to merge many of its services into a single unified store called “FAB.” This consolidation includes the Unreal Marketplace, Sketchfab, Quixel, and the ArtStation Marketplace. This move seems misguided, as each marketplace was successful and had systems tailored to their specific needs.
A unified marketplace raises concerns about functionality and user experience. Additionally, reports suggest that the FAB marketplace will not permit text-based reviews; users will only be able to leave star ratings for products.
In the wake of Unity’s controversial pay-per-download model that alienated indie creators, as a means of profiteering more so from successful mobile gacha games, Unreal appeared to be the favorable choice with the launch of UE5.
Despite the fact that commercial games built on Unreal Engine 5 are often criticized for poor optimization and technical issues like texture popping, likely stemming from flawed implementations of UE5’s Nanite and Lumen technologies, which can lead to overdraw problems, the Unreal Engine remains technically advanced.
It also offers a wealth of conventional game development tutorials and, until now, free Quixel assets. However, these assets will soon transition to Epic’s unified storefront, where individual packages will require upfront payment starting next year.
Epic Games has been struggling financially in its attempt to make its Chinese-backed PC storefront a viable competitor to Valve’s Steam.
This effort has often taken an anti-consumer approach. While Tim Sweeney and his company argue that Steam operates as a monopoly, which is accurate in many respects, they respond by paying game developers substantial sums to secure exclusivity for titles on their platform, often locking PC releases for six to twelve months.
Notable examples include Borderlands 3, Final Fantasy VII Remake, and Metro Exodus, which was initially announced for Steam but switched to an Epic exclusive at the last moment.
These business tactics have left a sour impression on consumers like myself, who avoid the Epic Game Store due to Epic’s deceptive and untrustworthy nature, despite Epic’s significant investments in giving away free games each month.
The company’s decision to consolidate assets from platforms like Quixel, Sketchfab, ArtStation, and the Unreal Engine Marketplace into a single store, FAB, aims to streamline access to resources. However, it is likely to negatively impact cost-conscious creators by reducing access to free materials and alternative platforms.
As we move into 2025, this consolidation seems to be a revenue-focused strategy, given that Epic Games has yet to achieve profitability with its struggling storefront. The only logical outcome appears to be nickel-and-diming creators using Unreal Engine.
The pressing questions now are how long it will take for Epic to impose surcharges on features like MetaHumans or to lock essential UE functions behind paywalls.
Financially, they won’t gain much since those reliant upon Megascans are mostly solo developers and very small teams whereas larger studios often prefer to spend significantly more on creating their own environment pieces and textures instead.
More rather, this decision ultimately risks damaging Epic’s reputation and goodwill further within the community, specially among tutorial creators and noncommercial game creators, as many of such vital guides and video tutorials may become obsolete.
Overall, the reliability of the Unreal Engine and Epic’s ability to provide trustworthy tools to the average joe has been seriously compromised.
